Comfortable Summer Shoes

By Charla Krupp

Have you checked out the season’s hottest heels? They’re the fashion equivalent of forbidden fruit: glossy, candy-colored, and seriously tempting. The catch is that the heels are too high: five, six, seven inches — the kind of towering heights that make podiatrists rich.

To help you find chic shoes you can actually wear, I tested all the latest styles. In the Connecticut suburbs, Laurette Kittle, an artist (shoe size 8 1/2 or 9); Suzanne Frank, a charity event planner (9 narrow); and I (size 6 1/2 ) teamed up to try on 30 pairs of shoes. In New York City, I tested 30 more with fashion coach Susan Sommers (another 9 narrow), founder of DressZing; and Kim Isaacsohn (size 8), president of Clever Carriage, her own handbag line.

Five outspoken shoe mavens, and yet we all awarded top honors to the same two brands: Aerosoles and Taryn Rose. Read on for details.

Best Pointy-Toe Flats

Most Comfortable Affordable Wedges

Aerosoles silver leather cutout wedges ($79; Aerosoles, 212-226-4090): Run and get these shoes! They look stylish, feel like slippers, and are only $79. Aerosoles and Naturalizers, the traditional comfort brands, have hired hot designers, which deserves our applause and our credit cards.

Most Comfortable Designer Heels

Cole Haan Carma OT Air Pump patent peep toes ($275; Cole Haan, 800-201-8001). Suzanne, who has back pain, declared: "I could run in these!" (The secret: Nike Air Technology, which supports the ball of the foot.)